BREAKING NEWS BULLETIN

Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy Passes At Age 77.

Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Democratic Party leader and one of the longest serving members of the U.S. Senate has passed away after a battle with brain cancer. The legislator, probably most known as the last living brother of the generation that produced President John F. Kennedy and Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, passed at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts at age 77.

Known as "Ted", he was born on February 22, 1932 in Boston. He was raised Catholic, and attended Catholic schools. For his higher education, he attended Harvard College and the University of Virginia School of Law. He served in the United States Army from 1951-53. In 1958, he managed his brother John's re-election bid to the U.S. Senate. His work on that campaign boosted John to a large victory which brought credibility to his Presidential aspirations in 1960. Afterward, Ted graduated from law school in 1959. In 1960, John made his bid for the White House, and Ted managed the campaign in the Western states. John went on to win his bid, and Ted became interested in seeking the Senate seat John had vacated.

In 1962, a special election was held to serve out the remainder of the Senate seat. Ted ran in the Democratic primary against the state attorney general, Edward J McCormack, Jr. Ted went on to win that race by a 2-1 margin, then won the seat by beating Republican George C. Lodge. Kennedy had 55 percent of the vote. He continued to win re-election every term following.

He was often mentioned as a Presidential contender in numerous elections from 1968 on. In 1980, he finally made a bid for the office, in an effort against incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter. This was viewed as unusual, as it was a rare, strong bid against a President from one's own party. However, several issues regarding Kennedy dominated his run. Issues such as the 1969 Chappaquiddick Incident regarding Kennedy's auto crash which took the life of passenger Mary Jo Kopechne stalled the earlier strength he had prior to his announcement. Also, a rambling interview to CBS News on why he wanted to be President hampered his efforts. Not helping was a disorganized staff. Kennedy struggled in the primaries and limped to the Democratic National Convention, where he withdrew.

Kennedy continued to serve in the Senate, and was a leading leftist voice there. He became known for leading the defeat of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, and pressed now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas particularly hard. Two issues he took up strongly throughout much of his career, and especially into the 1990s were the minimum wage and health care reform. He faced the closest margin of election of his career when he went up against Republican Mitt Romney in 1994. Kennedy went on to win that race 58 percent to 41 percent, and continued on as a leftist leader through the 1990s and 2000s. In 2008, he received much attention for his endorsement of Barack Obama for the Presidency, as Kennedy's support was one of the most valuable a Democrat could expect to get. On May 20, 2009, Kennedy was diagnosed with brain cancer, three days after suffering a pair of seizures. He continued to struggle with illness and seizures throughout the following 15 months. He would appear for Senate business at various times, but was not able to attend Senate sessions during his final five months.

At the time of passing, Kennedy was the second-longest serving U.S. Senator after Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia. He is also the third-longest in history, after Byrd and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.

He leaves behind sister Jean Kennedy Smith as the last remaining Kennedy from their generation. He also leaves wife Victoria, daughter Kara, and sons Edward, Jr. and Patrick, the latter of whom is currently a Democratic congressman from Rhode Island.

Walter Cronkite 1916-2009

Walter Cronkite at the CBS News desk, covering the 1980 election, which was his last as the network's news anchor.

America's News Broadcasting Pioneer Passes Away

Former CBS Evening News Anchor Walter Cronkite dead at 92.

Not many still walk the Earth that can rightly hold a claim to the prestigious title of being a television pioneer, let alone a television news pioneer. Tonight, the world loses one more of that class.

Walter Cronkite passed on Friday evening at his home in New York City. He succumbed in battling a long illness, believed to be cerebral vascular disease. After 92 years in life, and a long colorful career, he reached the sunset of his days on Earth.

Cronkite was well known as "the most trusted man in America", especially after a poll taken in the 1970s showed this to be so. He was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri on November 4, 1916. His middle-America roots are likely a key to his ability to connect well with the American people. He moved with his family to Houston at age 10. He showed an interest in journalism from a young age, as he edited his school paper while in high school.

For college, he chose the University of Texas-Austin, and worked on the Daily Texan newspaper. However, he did not graduate. Cronkite started several reporting jobs for newspapers, covering both general news and sports. Because of this, he dropped out in his junior year, which was in 1935. He went on to dabble in broadcasting some. He went into radio for WKY in Oklahoma City and became the sports announcer at KCMO-AM in Kansas City. By 1937, he joined United Press in Kansas City. This led him to become a noted World War II reporter. Cronkite covered numerous battles in Europe and North Africa.

This led to the new world of television. After the war, noted CBS Newsman Edward R. Murrow encouraged Cronkite to join CBS in its new television department, and he accepted. Murrow had tried to encourage him to CBS during the war, but those earlier attempts failed. Cronkite started at CBS affiliate WTOP in Washington.

The term "anchor" as it applies to newsmen is often thought to have gotten its start in 1952, and refers to Cronkite's work in the Republican and Democratic conventions that year. This was the first time a major political convention was shown on television.

He first became the anchorman for the CBS Evening News on April 16, 1962, when Douglas Edwards stepped away. This role cemented his position as the leading face of television journalism in his time, and made him an American icon. In September 1963, the program expanded from 15 to 30 minutes, and became America's first half-hour nightly news program. He would go on to be the anchor in some major life-changing events, from being the first to report the breaking news of President John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963 to the Apollo 11 mission to the moon to coverage of the war in Vietnam. He would end each broadcast with his trademark phrase, "...And that's the way it is", followed by the day's date. Another one of his famous lines came during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Now well-known protests were erupting outside of the convention hall, and colleague Dan Rather was beaten to the ground by security staff on camera. Upon seeing this, Cronkite said on camera, "I think we've got a bunch of thugs here, Dan." Cronkite was also known for his editorial on the war in Vietnam. After Cronkite gave his opinion that the war could not be won, President Lyndon B. Johnson stated,"If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

Cronkite retired from the program on March 6, 1981, and was replaced by CBS's face throughout the rest of the 20th Century and the early years of the 21st, Dan Rather. Cronkite would go on to live another 28 years, in which he still stayed active with voice-overs for various programs and attractions, appearances and interviews. His name was also put on the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.

As one who has a strong interest in journalism, I myself will miss his incredible talent for broadcasting and for connecting with the American people. We have lost another broadcasting news pioneer.

One Of America's Late 20th-Century's Great Conservative Leaders Passes On - Jack Kemp (1935-2009)

One of the leading footsoldiers of the conservative movement during the Reagan era passed away last month. Jack Kemp, former NFL star, congressman, and Vice Presidential candidate on the Republican ticket in 1996, passed away May 2nd after a battle with cancer at the age of 73.

Kemp contributed in a number of areas. He was a notable football player at Occidental College in Los Angeles, his native town, where he played at several positions. He took his football skills to the pros, where he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1957, then cut, and picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He would play for a number of teams, both in the NFL and the then-operating AFL as a strong quarterback. His most successful play came under the Buffalo Bills, where he led the team to two-consecutive AFL titles, before the organization's merger with the NFL.

Kemp settled in Buffalo, and already had an active hand in politics through the 1960s. During his days in California, he was a volunteer for Barry Goldwater's 1964 bid for President, and Ronald Reagan's 1966 victorious campaign for governor there. He also worked on Governor Reagan's staff in 1967, and a special assistant to Republican National Committee Chairman Ray C. Bliss in 1969.

In 1970, Kemp was elected to a Democratic-leading district in Buffalo to be seated in the U.S. Congress, where he served until 1989. He became a leading conservative spokesman, particularly on economic issues. He was a "supply-sider", believing that economic growth is caused by providing incentives. He was also generally conservative on most issues, and quickly became a Republican leader. In 1974, Time Magazine nominated Kemp as one of their "Faces For The Future". He was mentioned as a possible challenger to beat Jimmy Carter for the Presidency in 1980, and was a Vice-Presidential front-runner that year, in which George H.W. Bush got the nomination. In 1981, he was chosen by the Republicans in Congress to be chairman of the House Republican Conference, and served in that position for seven years. Kemp was an author of the 1981 Kemp-Roth tax cut, also known as the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. This was a keystone to the economic legacy of the Reagan years that lifted America out of the stagflation of the 1970s and paved the way for the roaring prosperity of the 1990s.

In 1988, Kemp decided not to return to the Congress, but to run for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Here he joined Kansas Senator Bob Dole, Teleevangelist Pat Robertson, Former Delaware Governor Pierre du Pont, Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, and Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, among others, to challenge Vice President George H.W. Bush for the nomination. He struggled to gain traction, and withdrew after the Super Tuesday primaries. However, his knowledge and experience on matters of poverty led Bush to nominate Kemp to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in which he served through most of the Bush Administration.

Kemp was highly respected in the party for his role in the 1992 GOP convention. Just after the election that year, he was considered again a front-runner for the Presidency, this time for the 1996 campaign. However, he decided not to run, as he believed some of his views would not go over well with the Republican electorate. The other candidates sought after his endorsement highly. Steve Forbes got it just as eventual nominee Bob Dole was nearing the nomination. Former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett was asked by Dole to be his running-mate. Bennett said no, but reportedly suggested the name of Kemp. He was chosen by the GOP convention over other names that were discussed, including Ohio Governor George Voinovich, Michigan Governor John Engler, Florida Senator Connie Mack, Arizona Senator (and future GOP Presidential nominee) John McCain, and Texas Governor (and future President) George W. Bush. The Dole-Kemp ticket, however, went down to a solid defeat in the election that year.

One of his greatest legacies was the Roth-Kemp tax cut in 1981. This was the foundation for the supply-side economic theory now widely known as "Reaganomics". His loss is also a loss of one of the leading conservatives to reach out to minorities, people from urban areas, and those in poverty. These are issues that the Republican Party absolutely need to get a grasp on.


Wikipedia - Jack Kemp

TWO LEGENDARY VOICES SILENCED - Harold N. Kalas (1936-2009) & Paul Harvey (1918-2009)

Not every sports team can claim a voice that is so legendary, that he is well known outside of his team or sport. Harry Kalas was one of those voices. Not only was Kalas calling the games for MLB's Philadelphia Phillies for nearly four decades, but he was also the voice for numerous NFL games, and for ads for companies as various as General Motors and Campbell Soup.

Kalas, or known by Philadelphia fans as "Harry The K", was a native of Naperville, Illinois, where he was born on March 26, 1936. After a short stint calling minor league baseball games in Hawaii in 1962, he went to the majors with the Houston Astros in 1963, who were then known as the Colt .45s. In 1971, the Phils hired on Kalas, who was the master of ceremonies at the opening of Veterans Stadium that same year. He soon became the broadcasting partner of another legend, Richie Ashburn. Kalas and Ashburn worked together for 27 years, until Ashburn too suddenly passed away in New York after a Phils/Mets game on the evening of September 9, 1997.

Kalas began using his trademark "outta here" call for home runs in the mid-1970s, and is now known for pioneering the famous call. He was also well-known for his affinity for Frank Sinatra's classic song High Hopes, which he sung often, especially at rally events.

Kalas passed away suddenly on the job in Washington, where he was in the broadcast booth just a few hours before he was scheduled to call the Nationals' home opener against the Phils on April 13th. The Phils' president, David Montgomery, simply said, "we lost our voice." Especially for yours truly, the Conservative Statesman, this is a sad loss. Kalas has long been a role model of mine, especially since I have taken a liking into baseball and radio broadcasting in recent years.

Kalas may be outta here, but his legacy lives on.




Another legendary voice passed from this life just a few months ago. Paul Harvey was the voice of America. Millions of people, especially from working-class roots, grew up listening to him and trusting him as a source for news and storytelling. His audience in his later career is reported to have estimated 22 million.


Harvey, whose full name was Paul Harvey Aurandt, was born on September 4, 1918, and was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, right in the heartland, and amongst hard-working, rural folk. That is probably why he could so easily connect with Americans of industrious quality and roots in traditional, heartland values. A teacher noticed his voice in school, and encouraged him to go into radio, which is what he, of course, did. He started working for KVOO in Tulsa at the young age of 14.


Harvey eventually moved from station to station. He even went to Hawaii to cover the U.S. Navy during World War II. Finally, he found himself in Chicago in 1944, where he went to work at WENR, an ABC affiliate. The Rest of the Story was started here in 1946 as a tagline, and became a series in 1976. ABC Radio started Paul Harvey News And Comment for syndication on their network on April 1, 1951. The shows grew in popularity through the following decades, and Harvey became one of the most known and trusted voices in American history. He signed a 10-year, $100 million contract with ABC Radio in 2000. His health began to falter in recent years. His vocal cords were damaged in 2000, but he was back on the air in August 2001. He had many notable people fill in on the program in recent years, including Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Gil Gross, Tony Snow, and Scott Shannon. His son, Paul Harvey, Jr., often would fill in as well, training his voice to mimick his father's.


Harvey is another loss for me personally. I remeber traveling into town with my dad to go to college my first year at Tennessee Tech. I would listen to Paul Harvey on a regular basis on either the talk station in Nashville, 99.7 WWTN-FM, or in Cookeville, Tennessee, 780 WPTN-AM. I had also listened to him numerous times before then. I always enjoyed listening to him bring forth the news and the stories every day that I could listen. I always enjoyed a national radio personality who was mainstream, yet conservative.


The losses of these two men make the world sound a whole lot more empty.



Harry Kalas - Wikipedia
Paul Harvey - Wikipedia

TONY SNOW: Another One Of The Good Guys In Washington Passes Away

Washington has lost another one of it's good guys.

Former Press Secretary Tony Snow passed away last Saturday from colon cancer that had spread to his liver. He was 53.

Snow was also known for his role as TV host on several shows on the Fox News Channel, particularly FOX News Sunday, of which he was the first host, and Weekend Live. He was also a radio talk-show host. He had his own show, The Tony Snow Show, and he regularly filled in for Rush Limbaugh from about the mid-1990s on. In his early career, he was a newspaper man, having written for The Greensboro Record in North Carolina, and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia. He was also a chief speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush.

In April 2006, President George W. Bush tapped Snow to serve in the office of press secretary, replacing Scott McClellan. In my opinion, he was the most competent of the press secretaries chosen by President Bush up until that time. He did his job well, and he did it with humor. Snow decided to leave his position in August 2007. Dana Perino would go on to succeed Snow in this role.

Snow, a native of Berea, Kentucky, was also an avid musician.

He will be missed, and his passing is a loss for those looking for good men and women in Washington. His family needs to be in our thoughts and prayers.

Jesse Helms, Great Statesman From North Carolina, Passes Away

Former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms passed away this morning from natural causes at the age of 86.

He was a well-known battler of Communists, liberals, and even an occasional Republican. When it comes to political parties, he had sat on both sides of the fence. He started off as a Democrat, but switched parties before his run for the U.S. Senate in 1972. Regardless of what party he was in, he remained a steadfast conservative on most issues, and was well-known for his strong opposition to homosexuality. Also, he was very supportive of America's Christian heritage.

Helms was born on October 18, 1921 in Monroe, North Carolina. He attended Wingate University and Wake Forest University, but did not graduate from either institution. Afterward, his first full-time job was sports reporter with the Raleigh, North Carolina News & Observer. During World War II, he was a recruiter in the U.S. Navy. After the war, he continued with journalism, but also took up politics with the Democratic Party. He helped several conservative Democrats over the years in various campaigns for office. He also worked in television and radio broadcasting at a later time.

In 1972, Helms ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate from North Carolina. He won 60.1 percent of the vote, and went on to defeat Democratic U.S. Congressman Nick Galifianakis of Durham in the general election by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin, becoming the first Republican senator elected in North Carolina in the 20th century. He won every successive election until he chose not to run again in 2002.

Helms is also believed to have been a crucial factor in keeping Ronald Reagan from falling out of the political spectrum. His backing of Reagan in the Presidential campaign of 1976 was crucial in his North Carolina primary. This victory set off a chain reaction of primary victories for Reagan in following crucial states. Until the North Carolina primary, Reagan had not won a single primary, and was $2 million in debt. It is believed that, had Reagan not won North Carolina or the following states, he would have retired to his ranch, and not given it another shot in 1980. The results of that would have been far-reaching, and a serious blow to the conservative movement. Even more importantly, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the economic rise during the late 1980s, and boom of the '90s, would likely not have happened.

"It's just incredible that he would die on July 4, the same day of the Declaration of Independence and the same day that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died, and he certainly is a patriot in the mold of those great men," said former GOP Congressman Bill Cobey today.

Helms was a great statesman for North Carolina, and was a great contributor to the conservative movement. God rest his soul. We need to keep his family in prayer.

Story from the AP

"Compromise, hell! ... If freedom is right and tyranny is wrong, why should those who believe in freedom treat it as if it were a roll of bologna to be bartered a slice at a time?" - Helms, in a 1959 editorial.

"I reject that criticism because this is indeed another kind of holocaust, by another name. At last count, more than 40 million unborn children have been deliberately, intentionally destroyed. What word adequately defines the scope of such slaughter? [After 9/11] the American people responded with shock, sadness and a deep and righteous anger — and rightly so. Yet let us not forget that every passing day in our country, more than three thousand innocent Americans are killed [through abortion]." - Helms on abortion in his 2005 book, Here's Where I Stand.

"Homosexuals are weak, morally sick wretches." - Helms

"He's a nice guy. He's very pleasant. But ... (as) Ronald Reagan used to say about another politician, `Deep down, he's shallow.'" - Helms on President Bill Clinton

TIM RUSSERT, 1950-2008: A Great Journalist And Man Of Character Passes Away

This last Friday, a great journalist and public example for love of family passed away. Tim Russert, chief of NBC News' Washington Bureau and host of that network's popular Meet The Press television show, was stricken by a heart attack and passed at the young age of 58.

Russert was an intelligent and fair journalist, regardless of his own political leanings. He had a love for what he did, and he did it well. Just a look into his face proves that he had a zeal for life. Outside of his career, his strong faith and love for family was a centerpiece for his life, and shown in a level uncommon in TV journalism today.

Personally, I will miss his excellent coverage of elections. NBC News has been the regular network I watch on election nights, and Russert has been a huge factor in the reason for that. I really liked his white erase board and how plain and simple he kept coverage. On his roots, I really like how he stayed humble through all his experiences. Even though he met many leaders and news shakers, he never forgot that his Irish, blue-collar roots in South Buffalo. That, also, is uncommon in TV journalism today.

God rest your soul, Tim Russert. Your family and friends are in our prayers and thoughts.

William F. Buckley, Jr. - A Pioneer Of Modern American Conservatism

1925-2008

This obituary is coming a little late, but I couldn't leave my blog without a remembrance of the life of a great pioneer of modern conservative thought.

William Frank Buckley, Jr. was born in New York City on November 24, 1925. His father was an oil baron from Irish descent, and his mom was from the American South, and from Swiss-German descent. From a young age, he became interested in music, horses, sailing, hunting, skiing, and story-telling. From 1945-50, he was enrolled at Yale University, where he graduated with honors.

In the early 1950s is when Buckley would begin probably his best-known career, writing. He co-wrote McCarthy and His Enemies with L. Brent Bozell Jr., in which the two men mostly supported Former Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy in his fight against communism. Buckley worked as an editor for The American Mercury magazine from 1951-52.

In 1955, he founded National Review, which became the standard-bearer of the conservative movement. The magazine still is a crucial leader in American conservative thought today. Buckley became a strong opponent of communism at a time when conservatism as we know it was just getting off its feet.

He founded Young Americans For Freedom in 1960. This is an organization of youth rallying for the conservative cause. The organization was founded on Buckley's estate in Sharon, Connecticut in the September of that year. YAF's guiding document is called the Sharon Statement, which are said to be Buckley's principles. The document is named after the town in Connecticut where it was drafted. At this time, the Republican Party was split into two factions, the liberal wing led by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and the conservative wing led which was being led by Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. The GOP was mostly led by the liberal wing in those days. Buckley strongly supported the Presidential candidacy of Goldwater in 1964, and used National Review as a forum for gathering support for the Arizona Senator.

In 1965, Buckley ran for Mayor of New York as the candidate of the Conservative Party because of his disapproval of the incumbent candidate, liberal Republican John V. Lindsay. Buckley lost the race and carried only 13.4 percent of the vote.

Over the last decades of the 20th Century, he became a strong influence on conservatives holding office, especially Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, as well as Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Buckley passed away on February 27th, but his influence and his legacy will not be forgotten. His influence in helping to pioneer American conservatism and fighting communism is a great contribution that will last generations. We still need to keep his family in prayer. May God rest the soul of William Buckley, Jr.

BREAKING NEWS: Actor and Former NRA President Charlton Heston Has Passed Away

11:33 PM CST

Popular actor and former NRA President Charlton Heston has reportedly passed away, according to family members. He was 84. The news broke about a half-hour ago.

He was well-known for his roles in the popular movies Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, Earthquake, and Planet of the Apes, among others.

He also served as the President of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003.

In August 2002, he reported that he had similar symptoms to Alzheimer's Disease.

On political matters, he started off as a liberal Democrat, but took more conservative positions on issues, including affirmative action, abortion matters and gun rights, by the 1980s. He changed his political affiliation to Republican, and campaigned for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

His soul, his family, and his friends need to be in our prayers at this time.



BREAKING NEWS ALERT FROM AP
WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ON MR. HESTON'S LIFE

Former Sears Chairman Brennan Passes Away

Edward Brennan, the man who led Sears, Roebuck & Company through the late 1980s and the early half of the '90s, passed away Friday, December 28th at the age of 73, according to the retailer's officials.

Brennan started as a sales associate at a Sears store in Wisconsin and worked his way up in a classic American success story to rise to become the chairman of what was then the world's largest merchant in 1986. He was a graduate of Marquette University in 1956, when he then became a Sears associate at one of the chain's Madison, Wisconsin, stores.

In January 1981, Brennan was chosen to be the chairman and CEO of the retail operations. In between 1984 and 1986, he was the president and chief operating officer of the company. He retired from Sears in 1995. After leaving, he became chairman at AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines in 2003 and stayed on until May 2004. He also served on the boards of McDonald's Corp., 3M Company, and Exelon Corp. Current McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner called him a "true leader and a man of great integrity".

CNNMoney

New York Times

Chicago Tribune article

Chicago Tribune obituary

Chicago Daily Herald

MERV GRIFFIN: 1925-2007

Baltimore Sun File Photo

A TV and singing legend passed away Sunday. Merv Griffin, a singer from the big-band era who went on to create some of the best-known TV game shows in history, passed away in Los Angeles from prostate cancer at the age of 82.

He was born on July 6, 1925 in California. At a young age, he was interested in singing, and landed a job on the radio, and even recorded an album.

He left his radio job in 1948 to become a member of the Freddy Martin band. Afterward he recorded his best-known song, "I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts". Later, he would find himself in stage and film acting roles.

Then came TV, and Griffin dabbled in the talk-show business. He was a guest numerous times on The Jack Paar Show in the 1950s. Paar moved on to NBC, and Griffin was a substitute host on numerous occasions.

Even with all of his roles on the radio and on TV, Griffin will be remembered most for something else, TV game shows. He was the creator of the Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune shows, two of the most popular TV game shows in history. Even the theme songs to these shows were his creations.

Griffin even dabbled in business ventures, buying and selling hotels, casinos and radio stations through his prolific life. He was close friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and visited the White House on numerous occasions during the Reagan Administration in the 1980s.

He married Julann Elizabeth Wright in 1958. They had a son, Tony. He survives his father along with the elder Griffin's two grandchildren. Merv and Julann were divorced in 1976.

He will be missed by all who knew him and by the millions who saw him as one of the most prolific of the entertainers of the latter half of the 20th century.

Rest in peace, Merv Griffin and God bless you!

Wikipedia article on Griffin's life

Baltimore Sun's obituary

Photos from the Baltimore Sun

A Tribute To Senator Craig Thomas 1933-2007

I have not yet posted on the passing of Wyoming U.S. Senator Craig Thomas, but his is a loss for his family, for Wyoming, and for the U.S. Senate.

From the indications given me, Mr. Thomas was a good man and a conservative. He was a Republican senator. He was a member of the Methodist Church. From fiscal issues to defense, Mr. Thomas showed himself to have a conservative stand. More importantly, Mr. Thomas was a conservative on family issues, abortion, immigration and the Second Amendment.

His career in elected public service began in 1984 when he was elected to the state House of Representatives to represent Casper. In April 1989, a special election was held to decide who would replace then-Congressman at large Dick Cheney, who resigned to become Secretary of Defense in the George H.W. Bush administration. Mr. Thomas was chosen as the Republican candidate, and he won the election to become Wyoming's congressman at large. He was re-elected to a full term in 1990 and another one in 1992. In 1994, another conservative Republican, Malcolm Wallop, decided to leave his U.S. Senate seat. Mr. Thomas decided to run for it. He was elected then, and was re-elected in 2000 and in 2006. His biggest priorities were in agriculture, rural development, and the national parks system.

Mr. Thomas battled leukemia, which was announced shortly after his re-election last year. He entered Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland on June 4, suffering from the leukemia and an infection. He passed away that night.

He is survived by his wife, the former Susan Roberts, and three sons and a daughter. Nine grandchildren will also remember him.

Our prayers go out to the family, and for the rest of the soul of Mr. Thomas. God bless all of you.

Wikipedia entry on Senator Thomas

Former Tennessee Tech Football Coach And A.D. Don Wade Passes Away

Don Wade, a former Tennessee Tech football coach and Director of Athletics, passed away in Clemson, South Carolina on Wednesday night. He was 79.

Wade, a native of Tyronza, Arkansas, began his playing career at Lenoir City High School in Lenoir City, Tennessee, where he played football and basketball. He went on to play with the Clemson University Tigers, while earning a bachelor's in education there. He graduated in 1952. While at Clemson, he played in the 1950 Orange Bowl, and in the 1951 Gator Bowl. Out of college, he began his coaching career at a high school in Georgia. In 1953, he began an assistant coaching spot at Clemson which lasted up to 1967. He helped coach the Tigers to bowl games three times.

In 1968, he left Clemson to take the head coaching job at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee. This was a job he held until 1983. He was one of Tech's most successful football coaches. Under him, TTU won the Ohio Valley Conference title in 1972 and '75. He had 81 career wins for a .509 winning percentage, both second-place showings for Golden Eagle football coaches. Wade became Tech's Director of Athletics in 1974, a position he held until 1980.

His memory will certainly live on at Tennessee Tech, and at all the places where he left his mark through his exciting life. God rest his soul, and bless his family and friends through this hard time for them. He will be missed!

FOR MORE:

Tennessee Tech Sports coverage on Wade's passing

Clemson Tigers' coverage

The Cookeville, Tenn. Herald-Citizen

The Nashville Tennessean

Clemson Tigers Insider

The Knoxville, Tenn. News-Sentinel

Jerry Falwell: A Leader For God And Morality In Public Service (1933-2007)

Jerry Falwell, a TV evangelist-turned conservative political leader, passed away Tuesday at 73. He was found unconscious in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. LU is one of his lasting legacies. It is still unknown exactly what the cause of his passing was, but it is suspected that a heart condition is to blame. Falwell had a history of heart problems.

Falwell was reportedly opposed to Christian involvement in government early on in his ministry. All that changed with the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision on Roe vs. Wade. Soon afterward, Falwell became a leading voice for morality in America, and became known for his stands against abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and the ACLU. He was the founder of the Moral Majority in 1979. Within months, he led the drive to register 15 million new voters, and lent a huge hand to Ronald Reagan's victory in the Presidential election of 1980. He continued to be a strong leader for conservative Christians and for American morality up until his passing Tuesday. He was influential in the 2004 re-election of George W. Bush to the Presidency. In 2004, he founded the Moral Majority Coalition. This group's goals were to help get pro-life judges selected to the Supreme Court and to influence the 2008 Presidential election. An important lasting legacy was his 1971 founding of Liberty University in Lynchburg. This private university is an important institution in training young, conservative, moral minds.

He took a lot of fire for many statements that he had made. Of course, most of the fire came from liberals, feminists, socialists, and the immoral. However, he had a mostly clean slate when it comes to cheating on his wife or stealing from the church, sins that have plagued many TV evangelists in recent decades.

Although he was, of course, not a perfect man, he was a crucial early leader of the modern conservative Christian influence in American Politics. Although I do not know of him to have been a strict party man, he was one of the forerunning builders of the Republican Party in recent decades. He has a great and lasting legacy in the crucially important involvement of Christian conservatives in the political process. On part of his efforts, America continues to stand, and is not weaker than she could have been.

God bless you and rest your soul Jerry Falwell.

"If a man stands by this book, vote for him. If he doesn't, don't." Falwell in 1979 regarding candidates and the Bible.

CONGRESSMAN NORWOOD LOSES FIGHT WITH CANCER

Photo Courtesy Of Rep. Norwood's Congressional Website

Congressman Charlie Norwood, a Republican from Georgia's 10th district, succumbed to his fight with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer today at the age of 65. He was a strong, Godly-conservative opposing abortion and homosexuality, while saying on his website, "I have never tried to hide the fact that I believe in God." Mr. Norwood was, also, concerned about the dangers of open borders, disapproved of NAFTA and CAFTA, and warned about our trade policies with Red China (he even called China by that name).

He was first elected to the U.S. Congress by his constituents in 1994 and won every election since by landslide margins. Mr. Norwood was born in Valdosta, Georgia on July 27, 1941. He was educated in Valdosta schools through his first year of high school. He graduated from Baylor Military High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1959. He received a bachelor's from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro in 1964, and then received his Doctorate from Washington's Georgetown University Dental School in 1967. He served in the Army for several years before opening a private dental practice. He was a devout Christian, as evidenced by his words and actions, and taught Adult Sunday School at Trinity-on-the-Hill United Methodist Church in Augusta, Georgia. He is survived by his wife, Gloria, two sons, and four grandchildren, all from Augusta. He fought the IPF disorder for eight years, and the lung cancer for over a year. He decided last week to cancel further treatment and returned home to Augusta to "put it in the Lord's hands".

His 10th district seat will be filled by a special election to be scheduled by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue.

Please keep Mr. Norwood's soul and his family and other ones close to him in your prayers. It is sad that another decent, honorable statesman has to go with our country in desperate need of them right now.

This article was written with help from Congressman Norwood's Congressional Website and from MSNBC.